Chapter 75

"Okay, I... I have no more questions."

When *Spider-Man* first opened, fans rushed to give it a 9.9 on IMDb, though it later gradually normalized to a 9/10.

*The Dark Knight* opened on IMDb with a 10/10! A rare perfect score!

If it were *The Godfather*, that would be one thing, but a comic book adaptation reaching such a level?

As the number of ratings increased, the score for *The Dark Knight* gradually settled to 9.5/10.

Even so, *The Dark Knight* has actually surpassed *The Godfather*, which had long held the number one spot!

The legendary *The Godfather* at 9.4, and *The Shawshank Redemption* at 9.3!

How could *The Dark Knight* reach such heights?

When the media broke this news, audiences who hadn't seen the film were stunned!

What kind of god-tier work is this?

Looking at the box office, it further proves the shockwave *The Dark Knight* has brought to Hollywood!

A first-day box office of $65 million! It broke the $57 million opening-day record set by *Spider-Man* last year!

And it easily crushed this year's opening-day champion, *Pirates of the Caribbean 3*!

It raked in $170 million in its opening weekend! Over $40 million more than *Pirates of the Caribbean 3*!

It successfully surpassed *Spider-Man*'s opening weekend record by a narrow margin of $2 million!

*The New York Times*, which always likes to question Xu Can, cannot help but sing praises of his achievements at this moment.

"After Xu Can single-handedly created the revival of comic book films and revitalized Marvel..."

"He has once again used his god-tier performance to shape the most charismatic villain in history!"

"For the first time, a villain in a film has completely overshadowed the hero, Batman."

"In *Batman Begins*, Batman might have been the absolute protagonist, but in *The Dark Knight*, the Joker is the only protagonist!"

"Whether it's the content explored in the plot, the film's spectacle, the editing, or the acting, this *Dark Knight* is enough to challenge for this year's Oscars."

At Disney headquarters, CEO Bob Iger is listening to his subordinates' reports.

If there was one big winner in Hollywood in 2006, it was naturally the late-arriving *Spider-Man*.

*Pirates of the Caribbean 2* had held the annual box office crown for over half a year, only to have it easily snatched away by *Spider-Man*.

The producer, Disney, was naturally unwilling to accept this; they worked overtime and quickly released *Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End* in the summer of 2007.

Although its $961 million global box office didn't surpass *Spider-Man*, it could at least securely claim the box office crown for 2007.

They didn't believe Warner's *Batman* could compete with them.

What threat could a film series with a history of failed word-of-mouth pose after a reboot?

Sure enough, *Batman Begins* had decent word-of-mouth, but its box office didn't even reach $500 million.

The only rival for *Pirates of the Caribbean 3* was Paramount's *Transformers*!

To limit the box office during the Christmas season, Disney simply released multiple films in a row.

*Tangled* and *National Treasure 2* were both released during the Christmas season, specifically to snatch box office share from *The Dark Knight*.

The former is a princess animation film heavily funded by Disney, which is Disney's area of expertise.

The latter is a major sequel starring big-name Nicolas Cage.

The previous film, *National Treasure*, had a global box office of nearly $400 million, and the sequel had a chance to exceed $400 million!

With the two films attacking from both sides, it would certainly have an impact on *The Dark Knight*.

As long as Disney took the annual box office crown, they could meet this year's predetermined goals, restore shareholder confidence, and boost the stock price.

However, *The Dark Knight* is writing a myth they cannot understand!

Its opening weekend box office broke *Spider-Man*'s record, creating a Hollywood best!

A 9.5 rating on IMDb and a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes!

Media outlets and film critics everywhere are giving it a full 5-star rating! It is nothing but praise from top to bottom!

At this rate, it won't be difficult for *The Dark Knight* to hit the $1 billion box office mark!

Disney films will be trampled underfoot once again!

By then, the stock price will surely drop significantly.

Disney CEO Bob Iger cannot stand it and immediately calls a meeting with his media executives.

"Go arrange it. No film is perfect; there must be points we can attack."

"Boss, even so, it's very difficult to stop them."

"No, I'm not trying to stop them, just slow them down slightly... As long as their global box office doesn't exceed *Pirates of the Caribbean 3*, we've succeeded."

High-end business wars are often conducted in the most primitive ways.

Such as stealing official seals, review bombing, writing hit pieces, and executives hurling insults at each other...

Sure enough, two days later, the entertainment section of the *Chicago Tribune* published a column review.

Due to the high quality of *The Dark Knight*, this review didn't resort to direct, baseless bashing.

The article first praised Director Nolan's lens language and the profound issues explored in the story.

Then, the tone shifted, aiming directly at the Joker.

"This version of the Joker certainly portrays that madness, but it doesn't seem to align with the original Joker."

"In the old *Batman* films, the Joker played by Oscar winner Jack Nicholson is the classic that cannot be surpassed!"

"Xu Can has added many of his own interpretations, but in the hearts of true DC fans, it might not be enough like the Joker."

"This might be a regret for *The Dark Knight*."

"After all, he is an Oscar winner; Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the character is deeper. The young Xu Can needs to learn a thing or two..."

Besides this review, media outlets and magazines like the *Miami Herald*, *San Francisco Chronicle*, and *Hollywood Film* all wrote reviews.

In the eyes of these media outlets, the old Batman and the old Joker were both better than the new versions.

The only advantage of the new version is that the story is excellent enough and the spectacle is shocking enough.

Michael Keaton / Bale

Jack Nicholson / Xu Can

This is their argument.

Amidst the original chorus of praise, similar reviews sprang up like mushrooms, causing huge controversy on the internet.

Netizens seem to have split into two camps, arguing over the new and old *Batman* films, which has brewed into a hot topic recently.

"This is controversial? Isn't Xu Can's performance proof enough? Have you even watched the movie?"

"Xu Can is a god! His Joker is simply one of the best villains in film history. How can anyone bash him?"

"The most brilliant character in *The Dark Knight*. If this isn't a success, what is?"

The other group only knows how to use nostalgia to make their point.

"Michael Keaton's version is the real Batman, very faithful to the comics. Nicholson's Joker is deeply rooted in people's hearts."

"Xu Can's performance is great, but it's hard for him to surpass Nicholson."

"Jack Nicholson is an Oscar winner. What awards does an Asian have?"

"The old actors are all great. Bale isn't as good as Michael Keaton, and the same goes for the Joker."

"Nicholson's Joker fully displayed a kind of madness, but he didn't lose the Joker's humor. His body language and facial expressions were all great. As for the Asian's performance, it always feels a bit weird."

Among the voices supporting the old Batman, some were indeed newly created accounts used to incite conflict.

In the profiles of the other group, they were all older, typical middle-aged white rednecks.

Their views were the most traditional and conservative; they found it hard to accept new things and were even suspected of being discriminatory.

By the end of the argument, more and more netizens joined in, expressing support for Xu Can's performance.

Anyone who has seen the movie will fall in love with this character.

There are fewer and fewer netizens supporting the old version, and they can only talk about the actors' achievements.

An Oscar winner versus a young actor with no awards.

One wave after another, a batch of low ratings for *The Dark Knight* suddenly appeared on IMDb.

They used *The Godfather* as a banner to mindlessly lower the score of *The Dark Knight*.

"*The Godfather* is clearly the number one in film history. What is a comic book adaptation?"

"Watch *The Dark Knight* before you talk!"

*The Dark Knight* fans were indignant and retaliated by review-bombing *The Godfather*.